The Carl Flesch International Violin Competition (also known as the International Competition for Violinists "Carl Flesch" and the City of London International Competition for Violin and Viola (Carl Flesch Medal)) was an international

music competition A music competition is a public event designed to identify and award outstanding musical ensembles, soloists, composers, conductors and musicologists. Pop music competitions are music competitions which are held to find pop starlets. Exampl ...

for violinists, and later viola players, held between 1945 and 1992 in London. Founded in honour of the Hungarian violinist

Carl Flesch Carl Flesch (born Károly Flesch, 9 October 1873 – 14 November 1944) was a Hungarian violinist and teacher. Flesch’s compendium ''Scale System'' is a staple of violin pedagogy. Life and career Flesch was born in Moson (now part of Mosonmagy ...

, it was originally organised by the

Guildhall School of Music and Drama The Guildhall School of Music and Drama is a conservatoire and drama school located in the City of London, United Kingdom. Established in 1880, the school offers undergraduate and postgraduate training in all aspects of classical music and jazz ...

and after 1968 formed part of the

City of London Festival The City of London Festival was an annual arts festival that took place in the City of London, England, over two to three weeks in June and July. The Festival was strongly geared towards classical music, but also offered a programme that included ...

. Particularly in the City of London Festival era, it was regarded as among the "most prestigious" competitions for string players, and "one of the most important testing grounds for aspiring soloists up to the age of 32."

History

The competition was founded in 1945 in honour of the Hungarian violinist

(1873–1944), who was particularly noted as a violin teacher. It was founded in the form of the "Flesch Medal" by

Max Rostal Max Rostal (7 July 1905 – 6 August 1991) was a violinist and a viola player. He was Austrian-born, but later took British citizenship. Biography Max Rostal was born in Cieszyn to a Jewish merchant family. As a child prodigy, he started studyin ...

and

Edric Cundell Edric Cundell (29 January 1893 – 19 March 1961) was a British music teacher, composer and conductor. Early life and academic career Born in London, Edric Cundell came from a musical family: his grandmother worked in Paris as an opera singer an ...

of the

; Rostal had been a pupil of Flesch. Flesch's son, Carl F. Flesch, was also instrumental in the competition's foundation, and commissioned a commemorative medal portraying his father from

Benno Elkan Benno Elkan OBE (2 December 1877, Dortmund, Westphalia - 10 January 1960, London) was a German-born British sculptor and medallist. His work includes the big Menora standing in front of the Knesset in Jerusalem and also numerous monuments, busts ...

to be presented to the winners. The early competitions were organised by the Guildhall School. Initially they were held annually in October, around the date of Flesch's birthday. From the start they were open to international entrants, with an age cut-off of thirty years. In addition to the medal, the original prize included a concert as a soloist with the

London Philharmonic Orchestra The London Philharmonic Orchestra (LPO) is one of five permanent symphony orchestras based in London. It was founded by the conductors Sir Thomas Beecham and Malcolm Sargent in 1932 as a rival to the existing London Symphony and BBC Symphony ...

. The first competition was won by the British violinist

Raymond Cohen Raymond HyamHis middle name has alternately been given as 'Hyam' (''Telegraph'' obituary) or 'Hyman' (''Independent'' obituary). Cohen (27 July 1919 – London, 28 January 2011) was an English classical violinist. Biography Early life and ed ...

; his win was said to have "launched him on to the world stage". At that date there were relatively few international music competitions; a slightly earlier violin competition is the French

Marguerite Long–Jacques Thibaud Competition The Long–Thibaud–Crespin Competition is an international classical music competition for pianists, violinists and singers that has been held in France since 1943. (A Jacques Thibaud Competition was held the year before in Bordeaux: Jacques ...

, which was founded in 1943 but did not attract international competitors until 1946. After the Second World War, the number of competitions increased rapidly. In 1949, the Carl Flesch competition was described by ''

The Musical Times ''The Musical Times'' is an academic journal of classical music edited and produced in the United Kingdom and currently the oldest such journal still being published in the country. It was originally created by Joseph Mainzer in 1842 as ''Mainze ...

'' as "the premier international award for violinists under thirty years of age". By 1956, three British orchestras offered solo concerts to the winners: the London Philharmonic,

Liverpool Philharmonic Royal Liverpool Philharmonic is a music organisation based in Liverpool, England, that manages a professional symphony orchestra, a concert venue, and extensive programmes of learning through music. Its orchestra, the Royal Liverpool Philharmon ...

and

City of Birmingham Orchestra The City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra (CBSO) is a British orchestra based in Birmingham, England. It is the resident orchestra at Symphony Hall: a B:Music Venue in Birmingham, which has been its principal performance venue since 1991. Its a ...

. By the 1960s the final was held at the

Wigmore Hall Wigmore Hall is a concert hall located at 36 Wigmore Street, London. Originally called Bechstein Hall, it specialises in performances of chamber music, early music, vocal music and song recitals. It is widely regarded as one of the world's leadin ...

in November. In 1968, the Carl Flesch competition was one of three international music competitions hosted in England, with a global total of sixteen competitions judging solely instrumentalists. Egon Kraus, in a 1968 review of international music competitions, commented that English violinists had been awarded eight of twelve prizes in the competition in 1956–66, including four overall winners, while considering all competitions Russian violinists performed much better. He noted that a similar skew towards the home nationality was apparent in the results of some other competitions. In 1968, the competition joined the

, an arts festival held in July, and the frequency changed to every two years. By then, the age limit had been raised to thirty-two years. In addition to the Carl Flesch Medal, a first prize of £1000 was offered, with a second prize of £750, third prize of £500 and fourth prize of £250.

Yfrah Neaman Professor Yfrah Neaman, OBE FGSM (13 February 1923 – 4 January 2003), was a concert violinist and an instructor. Early life Neaman was born in Sidon, Lebanon. He lived in Tel Aviv until 1932 when he moved to Paris to study at the Paris ...

, a pupil of both Flesch and Rostal, was the director and chair from 1968; he increased the competition's standing by recruiting

Yehudi Menuhin Yehudi or Jehudi (Hebrew: יהודי, endonym for Jew) is a common Hebrew name: * Yehudi Menuhin (1916–1999), violinist and conductor ** Yehudi Menuhin School, a music school in Surrey, England ** Who's Yehoodi?, a catchphrase referring to the v ...

and others to serve on the jury. It became a member of the

World Federation of International Music Competitions The World Federation of International Music Competitions (WFIMC) is an organization based in Geneva, Switzerland that maintains a network of the internationally recognized organisations that aim to discover the most promising young talents in classi ...

in 1969. In 1970 the remit broadened to include

viola The viola ( , also , ) is a string instrument that is bow (music), bowed, plucked, or played with varying techniques. Slightly larger than a violin, it has a lower and deeper sound. Since the 18th century, it has been the middle or alto voice of ...

players, with the first overall violist winner being

Csaba Erdélyi Csaba () is a Hungarian given name for males. Csaba is the native Hungarian name for Ernak, the youngest son of Attila the Hun.''Gesta Hungarorum'', Simon Keza, Edited and translated by Laszlo Veszpremy and Frank Schaer with a study by Jeno Szuc ...

in 1972. The formal title became the City of London International Competition for Violin and Viola (Carl Flesch Medal). According to '' Grove''s, it was then "one of the most important testing grounds for aspiring soloists up to the age of 32." The music journalist

Norman Lebrecht Norman Lebrecht (born 11 July 1948) is a British music journalist and author who specializes in classical music. He is best known as the owner of the classical music blog, ''Slipped Disc'', where he frequently publishes articles. Unlike other ...

described it in 2002 as "one of the toughest violin contests". From the 1970s specially composed test pieces were employed, which derived from a composers' competition organised by the

Society for the Promotion of New Music The Society for the Promotion of New Music (SPNM), originally named The Committee for the Promotion of New Music, was founded in January 1943 in London by the émigré composer Francis Chagrin, to promote the creation and performance of new music in ...

; these include Michael Blake Watkins' ''The Wings of Night'', Edward McGuire's ''Rant'', Helen Roe's ''Notes towards a Definition'' and

Michael Finnissy Michael Peter Finnissy (born 17 March 1946) is an English composer, pianist, and pedagogue. An immensely prolific composer, his music is "notable for its dramatic urgency and expressive immediacy". Although he rejects the label, he is often r ...

's ''Enek''. An audience award began in 1972, and the total prize money increased during the 1970s and 1980s; in 1976, the first prize was worth £1250, with a second prize of £1000, third prize of £750, and three further prizes totalling £800. In 1988 and 1990, the winner received £5000 and the other awards (in 1990) came to £10,000. A gold-mounted bow was also awarded to the winner. In the 1980s and 1990s the finals were held in the

Barbican Hall The Barbican Centre is a performing arts centre in the Barbican Estate of the City of London and the largest of its kind in Europe. The centre hosts classical and contemporary music concerts, theatre performances, film screenings and art exhibi ...

, with six finalists each performing a classical and a romantic or 20th-century concerto over several days in some years. In 1992, the City of London ceased to fund the competition. Flesch tried unsuccessfully for many years to gather financial support to resurrect it, but the final competition was held that year. The loss of the Carl Flesch competition was described in 2003 by Malcolm Layfield, director of the strings department at the

Royal Northern College of Music The Royal Northern College of Music (RNCM) is a conservatoire located in Manchester, England. It is one of four conservatoires associated with the Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music. In addition to being a centre of music education ...

, as "a gap in the UK's contribution". It is not related to the competition in Hungary first held in 1985 under the title National Carl Flesch Violin Competition, and later as the Carl Flesh International Violin Competition.

Events

A partial list of individual competitions follows. For the winners, see the following section, which lists all the years in which the competition was held.

Winners

A partial list of award winners in the competition; the instrument is violin unless otherwise stated: *1945:

(UK) *1946:

Norbert Brainin Norbert Brainin, OBE (12 March 1923 in Vienna – 10 April 2005 in London) was the first violinist of the Amadeus Quartet, one of the world's most highly regarded string quartets. Because of Brainin's Jewish origin, he was driven out of Vie ...

(Austria–UK) *1947:

Erich Gruenberg Erich Gruenberg (12 October 19247 August 2020) was an Austrian-born British violinist and teacher. Following studies in Israel, he was a principal violinist of major orchestras, including the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra, the London ...

(Austria) *1948: Gabriella Lengyel (Hungary) *1949: John Glickman *1950: Eugene Prokop (Czechoslovakia) *1951:

Igor Ozim Igor Ozim (born 9 May 1931) is a Slovenian classical violinist and pedagogue, based in Salzburg, Austria. Career Igor Ozim was born in 1931 in Ljubljana. He came from a musical family: both parents played the piano and his brother the violin. At ...

(Yugoslavia). Runner up:

Hugh Bean Hugh Cecil Bean (22 September 1929 – 26 December 2003) was an English violinist. He was born in Beckenham. After lessons from his father from the age of five, he became a pupil of Albert Sammons (and Ken Piper) when he was nine years old. La ...

(UK) *1952: Pierre Jetteur (Belgium). Runner up:

Clarence Myerscough Clarence Myerscough (born London, 27 October 1930; died London, 8 October 2000) was a British violinist. He studied at the Royal Academy of Music (where in 1952 he won the Rowsby Woof Prize) and the Paris Conservatoire under Frederick Grinke a ...

(UK) *1953:

Betty-Jean Hagen Betty-Jean Hagen (October 17, 1930 – December 29, 2016) was a Canadian-born violinist and musical educator living in the United States. Early life Hagen was born in Edmonton and studied violin there with Alexander Nicol. Hagen won awards at the ...

(Canada) *1954: Maria Vischnia (Uruguay). Runners up: Jack Rothstein (Poland–UK), Trevor Williams (UK) *1955:

Dénes Kovács Dénes Kovács (18 April 1930 – 11 or 14 February 2005) was a Hungarian classical violinist and academic teacher, described as "pre-eminent among Hungarian violinists". He won the Carl Flesch International Violin Competition in 1955. In his care ...

(Hungary). Runner up: Agnes Vadas (Hungary) *1956:

Ladislav Jasek Ladislav is a Czech, Slovak and Croatian variant of the Slavic name Vladislav. The female form of this name is Ladislava. Folk etymology occasionally links ''Ladislav'' with the Slavic goddess Lada. Spellings and variations In Bulgarian a ...

(Czechoslovakia). Runner up: Steve Staryk (Canada) *1957: Michael Davis *1958: Wilfred Lehmann (Australia) *1959: Ronald Keith Thomas (Australia) *1960: Antoine Goulard (France) *1961: Marie Renaudie *1962:

Jean-Jacques Kantorow Jean-Jacques Kantorow (born 3 October 1945) is a French violinist and conductor. His son is the pianist Alexandre Kantorow. Biography Kantorow was born in Cannes, France, into a family of Russian-Jewish origin. From the age of 13 he studied a ...

(France) *1963:

Ana Chumachenco Ana Chumachenco is an Italian born violinist of Argentinian, Ukrainian, and German descent. Biography Ana Chumachenco was born in Padova, Italy, on 23 June 1945. From the age of four, Chumachenco practiced violin under the guidance of her fathe ...

(Italy) *1964: Eva Zurbrügg (Switzerland) *1965: Eszter Boda *1966: Andreas Roehn (Germany). Runners up: 2nd: Mariko Takagi (Japan); 3rd:

Peter Michalica Peter Michalica (born July 10, 1945, Kremnica) is a Slovak violin The violin, sometimes known as a '' fiddle'', is a wooden chordophone ( string instrument) in the violin family. Most violins have a hollow wooden body. It is the smalles ...

(Czechoslovakia); 4th: Hervé le Floch (France) *1968: Joshua Epstein (Israel) *1970: Stoika Milanova (Bulgaria). Runners up: 2nd: Luigi Bianchi (viola; Italy); 3rd:

(viola; Hungary) *1972:

(viola; Hungary), the first violist to win. Runners up: 2nd:

Atar Arad Atar Arad (Hebrew: עתר ארד; born 8 March 1945) is an Israeli American violist, professor of music, essayist and composer. Biography Arad and his brother, architect Ron Arad, were born in Tel Aviv, Israel. Arad began his training on the vio ...

(viola; Israel); 3rd: Gonçal Comellas (Spain); 4th: Mincho Minchev; 5th: Michael Bochmann (UK); 6th: Otto Armin (Canada). Audience award: Minchev or Comellas *1974: Mincho Minchev (Bulgaria). Runners up: 2nd:

Dong-Suk Kang Dong-Suk Kang (born April 28, 1954) is a South Korean violinist. Biography Kang was born in Seoul, and played his first concert at the age of eight. He went to New York in 1967 to study at the Juilliard School and completed his education with Iva ...

(Korea); 3rd: Isaac Shuldman (Israel); 4th: Gottfried Schneider (W. Germany); J. S. Bach prize:

Elizabeth Wallfisch Elizabeth Wallfisch (née Hunt; born 28 January 1952) is an Australian Baroque violinist. Biography Born in Melbourne, Wallfisch debuted as a concert soloist at the age of 12 and took part in such competitions as the ABC Concerto Competition. She ...

*1976:

Dora Schwarzberg Dora may stand for: * Dora (given name) Places United States *Dora, Alabama * Dora, Arkansas * Dora, Missouri *Dora, New Mexico * Dora, Oregon * Dora, Pennsylvania * Mount Dora, Florida Other countries * Lake Dora (Tasmania) *Lake Dora (West ...

. Runners up: 2nd and Beethoven sonata prize: Andrew Watkinson; 3rd: Magdalena Rezler-Niesiolowska *1978:

Eugene Sârbu Eugen Sârbu (born 6 September 1950) is a Romanian-born classical violinist. He has had an international career as a soloist, recitalist and conductor (from the violin). In 1978, he won both the Paganini Competition and the Carl Flesch Internationa ...

(Romania). Runner up: 2nd: Takashi Shimizu (Japan) *1980: Barbara Górzyńska *1982: Adelina Oprean. Runners up: 2nd: Krzysztof Smietana; 3rd: Evgenia Popova; 4th: Michelle Makarski (United States); 5th: Kyoko Kimura; 6th: Takumi Kubota. *1984: Masayuki Kino (Japan) *1986:

Xue Wei Xue () is the pinyin romanization of the Chinese surname 薛 (Xuē). It is romanized as Hsüeh in Wade-Giles. In Hong Kong and Macau it is usually romanized through its Cantonese pronunciation Sit. In Korean, it corresponds to Seol (설), in Jap ...

(China) Runner up: 3rd: Mieko Kanno *1988: Sungsic Yang (Korea) Runners up: 2nd: Suzy Wang; 3rd:

Vasko Vassilev Vasko Vassilev ( bg, Васко Василев, links=no; born October 14, 1970 in Sofia, Bulgaria) is a Bulgarian violinist and conductor. At the age of eight he had his first public appearance and released his first record with the Sofia Philhar ...

; Worshipful Company of Musicians Prize: Jean-Marc Phillips. Also a laureate:

Vesko Eschkenazy Vesko Eschkenazy (born 1970) is a violinist who serves as the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra's concertmaster. Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra Biography Born into a Bulgarian Jewish family in 1970, Vesko Panteleev Eschkenazy became a child prodigy in ...

(Bulgaria) *1990:

Maxim Vengerov Maxim Alexandrovich Vengerov (russian: Максим Александрович Венгеров, , mɐkˈsʲim ɐlʲɪkˈsandrəvʲɪtɕ vʲɪnˈɡʲerəf; he, מקסים ונגרוב; born 20 August 1974) is a Russian-born Israeli violinist, v ...

(Russia–Israel) *1992: Benjamin Schmid (Austria)

References

Sources * * *{{citation , url=https://books.google.com/books?id=FNyCCgAAQBAJ , author=Lisa McCormick , title=Performing Civility , year=2015 , publisher=

Cambridge University Press Cambridge University Press is the university press of the University of Cambridge. Granted letters patent by Henry VIII of England, King Henry VIII in 1534, it is the oldest university press A university press is an academic publishing hou ...

, isbn=9781107100862 Violin competitions Violas Music competitions in the United Kingdom Classical music in London Music festivals established in 1945 Awards established in 1945

History

Events

Winners

See also

References